


Delicate Balance

by lesbianophelia



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-07
Updated: 2013-12-07
Packaged: 2018-01-03 22:58:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1074051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesbianophelia/pseuds/lesbianophelia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“For the first time, I reverse our positions in my head. I imagine watching Gale volunteering to save Rory in the reaping, having him torn from my life, becoming some strange girl’s lover to stay alive, and then coming home with her. Living next to her. Promising to marry her.” – Catching Fire, page 117. </p><p>Everlark in three parts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Delicate Balance

Katniss feels terrible about the little sigh of relief that comes out when it’s Delly Cartwright’s name that gets called and not hers. It’s not that she has anything against her, really. If anything, it’s a little bit sad to see someone so upbeat send off to the Capitol like this, but it means that Katniss is safe for another year, and so is her sister. Her sister! She hadn’t even remembered to worry for her sister! 

She’s absolutely convinced that she’s the world’s worst person when she steps out of the way to let Delly through, because her first thought is that she might regret her tears later. 

-  
“Rory Hawthorne!” 

Katniss barely has the time to find Gale in the crowd before he’s shoving his way through. She knows what’s coming, she does, but that doesn’t make it any easier to hear. 

“I volunteer!” her best friend shouts. “I volunteer as tribute!” 

\- 

The line to see Delly is much longer than the line to see Gale. She had seen it coming, really, but there was something about the way that the district had saluted him as if he became someone precious that made her think that they would want to say goodbye to him. 

Either way, she’s relieved not to have to wait long until she can go in to see Gale. 

\- 

Gale doesn’t cry. He gives her a sort of small smile. 

“I’ll keep an eye on your snares,” she offers weakly. “And I –” 

He grabs her around the waist at this, pulling her against him so quickly that she sort of squeaks. It doesn’t matter, though, because then his lips are against hers. Warm and soft and desperate. 

“I had to do that,” he says when he finally pulls away. “At least once.” 

It’s so final that it sends her reeling. “You’re gonna come home.” 

There’s more that she wants to say, about how he’s brave and strong and he can do this, but then the Peacekeeper is yanking her out of the room and she’s stumbling forward. 

“Are you okay?” someone asks from Delly’s line, and she looks up to see Peeta Mellark watching her intently. 

She resists the urge to roll her eyes. “I’m okay.” 

\- 

“Beautiful girl like you,” Caesar Flickerman presses. “There must be some boy back home. Tell us, what’s his name?” 

Delly gives an uncomfortable little laugh. “Well, there is this one boy. I’ve had a crush on him for as long as I can remember. But I’m pretty sure he didn’t know I was alive until the reaping.” 

The crowd sounds overwhelmingly sympathetic. 

“He have another girl?” Caesar asks. 

“I don’t know, but a lot of girls like him,” Delly says shyly. 

“So here’s what you do. You win, you go home, he can’t turn you down then, eh?” Caesar says encouragingly. 

“I don’t think it’s going to work out. Winning . . . won’t help in my case.” 

“Why ever not?” says Caesar, mystified. 

Delly blushes beet red. “Because . . . because . . . he came here with me.” 

\- 

If Katniss had a hard time watching Gale gush over how gorgeous he’s always thought Delly was, it’s nothing compared to all of the whispers at school on Monday. 

She tells herself that it has nothing to do with her at first, but by lunch she’s heard her names more times than she’d care to. 

“Do you mind if I sit here?” Peeta Mellark asks, his hand on the chair across from Katniss. 

Madge shakes her head quickly and he sits down, unpacking his lunch and glancing around a few times before he leans forward. 

“Did you know?” he asks. “About Delly and Gale, I mean?”

He gives her a sort of sad smile. “I’m sorry. I just wondered, because I know Delly talks about it all the time. I guess it makes sense, though, with the two of you being . . .” 

“We’re not,” she says, her voice a little bit harsher than she intends for it to be. Whatever. Let him hear how frustrated she is with all of this. Let everyone in the cafeteria hear, let them stop all of this stupid gossip. Still, the way he looks shocked is enough to make her soften her tone. “We’ve never been. We’re just friends.” 

It’s a lie, maybe, but the kiss in the Justice Building was the first of its kind and absolutely nothing like all of the kisses that she’s seen him exchange with Delly on the screen. It doesn’t matter. Not anymore. Not at all. 

Peeta smiles. “Oh. Well, I guess what I was getting at is that Delly and I have been friends ever since we were kids, so if you ever need anyone to talk to, I know what you’re going through.” 

She wonders if he realizes how stupid it is. Every hope she puts towards Gale coming home is a hope for Delly to die. How could either of them be any comfort to each other if their interests are so conflicting. 

\- 

He sits with them again the next day, and then day afterwards, like he’s been invited. She’s not dumb enough to expect Madge not to have friends that aren’t hers, so when Madge asks if she minds, she shakes her head. 

Besides, he doesn’t really pay attention to what they talk about. There’s a projection just over Peeta’s shoulder that she watches as she eats, trying not to be irritated as Gale shows Delly how to make snares, no bow needed in exchange. 

“Wasn’t she, Katniss?” Peeta asks. 

She blinks. “What?” 

Madge laughs, but Peeta doesn’t. He just smiles. “Mrs. Johnson. I was telling Madge how strict she was,” 

“She was,” Katniss agrees. 

Peeta launches into a story at this, trying to remember why, exactly, she had torn up an essay. 

“No, she didn’t turn it in,” Katniss says. “She was writing it in class – remember? She thought it was a note or something when she grabbed it, but she was still mad.” 

“That’s right!” he says. “I just remember hiding every extra piece of paper I had for the rest of the year.” 

“Yeah,” she says. “I did, too.” 

\- 

He makes a point to pull her into the conversation every afternoon for the rest of the week. She’s not entirely sure why – maybe he feels bad about stealing her lunch partner, but they never really talked anyway. 

Gale and Delly are branded the star crossed lovers of District Twelve. She’s branded his cousin. 

\- 

Peeta opens the door to the bakery on Sunday, smiling broadly when he sees Katniss. 

“Hey!” 

“I have squirrels,” she announces. “For your father.” 

“Oh, okay,” he says, glancing over his shoulder. “My father is taking a cake order, but I’m more than happy to get your bread, if you don’t mind.” 

“No,” she says. “I don’t mind.” 

He doesn’t bring the Games up at all and she sort of smiles. 

“So, um, I thinking that maybe we could watch together in the Square tonight, if that’s something you’d be interested in?” 

One of his brothers snorts. 

“Oh,” she says. “Why?” 

He shifts, obviously uncomfortable. “Um . . . Just because I’ve really been enjoying spending time with you this week and I thought . . . maybe if we could hang out outside of school, we could be friends.” 

“We’re not,” she says before she can help herself. 

He raises his eyebrows. “Yeah. That’s what I was hoping to fix. It’s okay if you don’t want to, though, I don’t mind.” 

She feels sort of bad. They’re on the same team now, anyway, and he’s never been anything other than nice to her. 

“Prim and I will be in the square at five,” she announces. 

He grins at her. “Okay. See you then.” 

-

The three of them sit together on the ground. She’s just about to roll her eyes at a particularly passionate kiss between her best friend and his when he laughs. 

“What?” she asks. 

“Nothing,” he says. “I just don’t think that’s ever going to stop being weird.” 

She laughs, too, and it isn’t until she’s finished that she realizes that it feels like the first time she’s laughed – really laughed – since the Reaping. 

\- 

They go out again that next night and invite Madge, and Katniss brings Prim again, who absolutely adores Peeta. 

How it becomes a routine, she’s not entirely sure. Maybe Peeta was onto something that first day though, when he offered to talk about it with her. He’s not sure why it’s so much easier to watch with him than with just her sister. 

It’s three days into the routine that the mutts come out, and her hand finds his without her permission. When he moves underneath her, she’s sure that it’s to free himself, but he just turns his hand over and gives her a squeeze, as if to say that it’s going to be okay. 

And he’s right, it is, for the most part. One of them manages a pretty nasty rip into Delly’s leg, but other than that, once they knock the boy from two off of the horn, they’re fine. Only, she doesn’t want to miss anything that happens on the way home, so she stays out far later than she probably should. 

“You two should really get some sleep,” he announces around midnight. Gale still hasn’t made the final kill, though, and she’s anxious just thinking about it. “I’ll walk with you – if that’s okay.” 

“Yeah,” Prim says. “It’s okay.” 

-

He's back at her house first thing in the morning. 

She’s already situated on the couch, though, and barely even notices when her mother invites him in. “I looked for you in town but there was a huge crowd,” he tells her, finally catching her attention. “I wanted to make sure you were okay.” 

“Yeah,” she says. “I’m okay. Do you want to sit down?” 

He smiles. “Yes, thank you. What did I miss?” 

“He used the arrow from Delly’s tourniquet on Cato,” she explains, shifting to allow him a little bit more room. “I don’t know why they haven’t announced them as Victors yet.” 

He nods, eyebrows furrowed in thought. 

It isn’t long until Claudius Templesmith answers the question for them. 

“Greetings to the final contestants of the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games. The earlier revision has been revoked. Closer examination of the rule book has discloses that only one winner may be allowed. Good luck and may the odds be ever in your favor.” 

She knows that Peeta isn’t on her side anymore. Surely he’s just waiting for Delly to find some way to kill Gale. Maybe he isn’t, though, because his hand closes over the top of hers where it sits between them on the cushions. 

“If you think about it,” Delly says on the screen. “It’s not that surprising.” 

They fight a little bit, neither of them willing to let the other die. No matter how hard she tries, she can’t root for Gale to let the arrow fly. Not with Peeta sitting beside her. 

“Listen,” Delly says, pulling Gale to his feet from where he’s been desperately trying to plaster the bandage back onto her wound. “We both know they have to have a victor. It can only be one us. Please, take it. For me.” 

She goes on after this, saying that she loves him, but Gale isn’t paying attention and neither is Katniss. What is he doing? 

His fingers fumble with the pouch on his belt, freeing it. Delly sees it and her hand clamps down on his wrist. 

“No, I won’t let you.” 

“Trust me,” he says. She holds his gaze for a long moment and then lets him go. He loosens the top and pours a few spoonfuls of berries into her palm and then fills his own. 

Katniss squeezes Peeta’s hand tightly and he gives her one back. 

“On the count of three?” Gale asks. 

Delly stands on tiptoe and kisses him once, very gently. “The count of three.” 

“Hold them out,” Gale says. “I want everyone to see.” 

They count to three. The berries have just passed their lips when the trumpets begin to blare. “Stop! Stop! Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to present the victors of the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games, Delly Cartwright and Gale Hawthorne! I give you – the tributes of District Twelve!” 

They both let out deep breaths as Gale and Delly empty their mouths on the screen. When did she begin crying? She doesn’t cry. 

“Hey,” Peeta says quietly beside her. “It’s okay. It’s okay, they’re coming home.” 

She turns to face him as soon as the signal cuts out, her breathing funny from her relief. “Yeah. They are. They’re coming home.” 

He loosens his hand from her grip, bringing it up to wipe her tears away with his thumbs. “You know, I’m starting to think it’s time we did something normal together.” 

“Normal?” she asks, swallowing hard. 

“Yeah,” he says. “Something normal.” 

\- 

They hold hands while they wait for the train to pull into the station and she wonders when they’re going to run out of excuses.

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from Dilaudid by The Mountain Goats. 
> 
> I'm planning on two more parts for this, one for Catching Fire and one for Mockingjay, but I don't really have a set date for either of those.


End file.
